I was already going to be driving to North Carolina for Thanksgiving anyway and passing by Dayton, Ohio. I had just found out that the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force at Wright-Patterson AFB had the original JFK Air Force One. I figured that would be a great way to commemorate the event by visiting it and hopefully either seeing it or, even better, going on board.
I met my buddy Denny at the museum and we were one of the last ones to get seats on the bus out to what they call the Presidential Hangar which has planes used by FDR, Truman and, of course, JFK's Air Force One.
When we got to the hangar, everyone rushed AF1, so Denny and I took a walk around the research and development planes until the line went away at JFK's plane. Not only did we see the outside of the plane, but we also got to go on it. I went through twice, first taking video of it from my VHS-C camcorder and then a second time to take still pictures.
We saw where the LBJ swearing in took place in that famous photo with Jackie Kennedy standing next to him and also saw the seats that were cut away to allow JFK's casket to be flown back to D.C.. Most caskets would have been relegated to the cargo hold but that wouldn't do for a presidential one.
Sadly, though, plexi-glass lined the hallway and it was difficult to take pictures, but,I WAS THERE WHERE ALL THOSE EVENTS TOOK PLACE FIFTY YEARS AGO TO THE DAY. One man in the group was an expert on all things dealing with the assassination and he said that we were on the plane at the same time JFK would have been on it when he took the short flight from Fort Worth to Dallas back on November 22, 1963.
That Close to History!!
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